YourVoice.Now Summary
Adds a federal public defender as a second nonvoting member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, giving defense attorneys a voice on sentencing rules.
The details
The U.S. Sentencing Commission sets the guidelines that federal judges use when deciding prison sentences. Currently, it has one nonvoting ex officio member — the Attorney General's designee. This bill would add a second nonvoting member: a federal public defender or community defender, chosen by the Defender Services Office. The idea is to make sure the perspective of defense attorneys — who represent the people most directly affected by sentencing guidelines — has a seat at the table when those guidelines are written.
Congressional Summary
Sentencing Commission Improvements Act This bill adds one nonvoting member to the U.S. Sentencing Commission and requires the new member to be a public defender.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- SENATE
- Status
- in committee
- Action
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Action Date
- 2026-03-18
- Date Added
- 2026-04-06
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Record 15c853a7-5414-433d-8218-f1199fb1ca9c · JSON
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